Dallas Mavericks defense prepares for test against top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder
The Dallas Mavericks are preparing to play the Oklahoma City in a big test of their strong postseason defense.
Although they are the second-youngest team in the NBA, the Thunder had the third-rated regular season offense (118.3) led by MVP finalist in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Alexander averaged 30. 1 point, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists in the regular season. After Monday’s practice, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd spoke about the challenges of defending a player like Alexander.
“[Alexander’s] one of the best young players in this league and so he puts a lot of pressure on your defense and everyone’s gonna get a chance to guard him. Just understand we’re coming out of a series with Paul George and Harden,” said Kidd, “So hopefully we can have some carryover from the defensive side to just try and make it tough on Shai and those guys.”
The best-of-seven series begins on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. on TNT in Oklahoma City.
This series will also be a test for Mavs centers Dereck Lively and Daniel Gafford who will face off with rookie sensation Chet Holmgren. A rookie of the year finalist, Holmgreen averaged 16.5 points with 7.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting 37% from three-point range.
Gafford laid out the differences between Holmgren and his last opponent Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac.
“[Holmgren] stretches the floor a lot more, he’s a more dynamic guy. Zubac was more of a back to the basket, bang, bang, bang under the basket,” said Gafford.
Holmgren’s shooting will make him a unique challenge for the Mavs and could help draw their rim protectors out to the perimeter, making scoring in the paint easier. However, the Mavs should be able to take advantage on the boards where the Thunder have been weak.
The Mavs will also have a massive experience advantage over the Thunder with Irving and Doncic having more playoff experience than every starter on the Thunder. However, Kidd pointed out that OKC is still an accomplished team.
“They’re the number one team in the West, So they have the coach of the year in Mark [Daigneault] and so understanding, they’ve been experienced, they’ve been together for some time now,” said Kidd, “So just understanding that until you can put them into an experience situation, they’re going to play basketball, they’re going to play the way that they’ve been playing all season. So our job is to try to hopefully put them in a position that experience does come into play.”
The Mavs will be shorthanded going into the series without Maxi Kleber who is sidelined with an AC Joint injury. Kleber’s ability to space the floor was key in the Mavs’ first-round victory and without him, Markieff Morris could see an increased role.
